The Chosen One's Battle
by n33n
Summary: SPOILERS! This is what I think will happen in the seventh book. I have all my theories and thoughts weaved in...Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny...please try it! Thanks. FINISHED!
1. Coming of Age

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

* * *

Author's Note: 

**This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!**

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

**Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! **Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter One: Coming of Age**

Harry stared calmly at his feet. He had been thinking—plotting—what he was going to proceed to do after he turned seventeen and became of age and the protection that Dumbledore had placed upon him did not linger anymore.

He lay back on his bed, a sinking feeling swimming around in his throat as he remembered all that he had been through just a month ago. Voldemort and his followers had been striking both wizards and muggles—each attack worse than the before. To add to that complete mess, all the fatherly figures he had in the past were gone now. The people he dearly loved—all hurt.

Harry was brought back from his miserable reminiscence by a soft hooting from Hedwig, who had just flown in.

Hedwig blinked her large amber eyes at Harry as he stared at the letter in Hedwig's beak, not bothering to take it. After another moment, Harry mechanically came forward and ripped the parchment open.

"_Harry-- _

_My mum wanted me to tell you that Bill and Fleur's wedding is going to be in two weeks (August 12th) and that you're welcome to come anytime you want to our house, but I reckon you want to stay at your uncle's house until you're seventeen? I know that you'll do what Dumbledore wanted you to do so I'm not even going to try and talk you out. Mum also said that Dad and a couple other Order members will take (or in her words, 'escort') us to the Apparation site, where we can take our tests once we're of age. _

_Percy came back. Yeah, the lousy git. He says that he's remorseful and he was wrong blah blah, but I'm not buying it. I think he's on Scrimgeour's orders to spy on us and you when you come here, so don't say anything crazy around the world's biggest prat. Mum's excited though—I can't believe her. After all he's done.. _

_Bill's looking somewhat better—you can see his nose is there now that the blood's all gone—nasty piece of work—damn that Greyback. Anyways, Fleur's been taking good care of him and she's making him a horrid dinner of a pound of raw steak right now…shouldn't take too much expertise, eh? Just throw the meat on the plate—so complicated._

_Ginny's been locking herself in her room. I asked Mione and she reckons that you said something to her at Dumbledore's funeral. Ginny hasn't been the same since. Did you? Harry, you complete prat! Just because I gave you my permission doesn't mean that you can get on taking advantage of her like that! When she comes out of her room to eat or something, her eyes are always puffy and red! It's horrid. Just wait till you come here, Harry, I'm going to—I'm going to do something…I'm thinking of what. You wait. _

_Anyways, since I wrote you a long and meaningful letter, you best write me one back—I've measured it—including my sig, it's a total of sixteen inches! _

_-Ron"_

Harry smiled sadly. Ron, his best friend that was funny—good at cheering people up in times like these. Ron had finished his letter with a large flourish—at least two inches to the parchment. He sighed, laying the paper back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What he wouldn't give to free himself of these missions—these Horcruxes he had to find—Voldemort to be destroyed—the love he could never let Ginny know—nothing like a normal, happy life.

His eyes drifted towards the calendar. He stared hard at it—his birthday was tomorrow. Birthdays, he scoffed. Something so—_so_ happy in these dark times.

Tomorrow, the protection would end, leaving Harry vulnerable and defenseless.

As soon as he woke up tomorrow, he would leave the Dursleys'.

o.O.o.O.o

Harry woke up with a jolt. The sun was shining extremely brightly, lightening his dark mood up some. He flung open his raggedy pink-flowered curtains—courtesy of Aunt Petunia and laughed. He stood there by the window, laughing for the longest time, like he completely lost his mind.

He was of age.

Without a second thought, Harry flicked his wand casually, his personal items flinging themselves into a trunk that opened automatically. He waited for a minute. He grinned. No underage magic notices came whooshing in by owl. Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage, his prized Firebolt, and his bulging trunk and strolled into the living room downstairs.

"Morning," Harry greeted pleasantly as he walked past the kitchen where Aunt Petunia was slicing dried, browning apples. Dudley and his uncle Vernon had not woken up yet.

"Mor—what are _you_ doing here?" Aunt Petunia had started to answer automatically in her strained voice before shrieking.

"I've been here for a month," Harry said coolly and stood by the window, staring outside. "Anyways, thanks."

"Thanks?" Aunt Petunia repeated, her eyes popping out somewhat.

"Yeah, you know, for letting me stay here all my life. I'm going—your wish granted—happy?" Harry said impatiently and tugged at his broomstick absently. The Burrow was a bit far away for flying, but he didn't have any Floo powder…

"Harry…" Aunt Petunia said in a hoarse whisper. Harry looked up, startled. He had never heard his aunt address him normally. Her face was stark white and her mouth was slightly open.

"What?" Harry asked, completely bewildered.

"I—I'm sorry. I hated L—Lily…she could do magic and I couldn't. It wasn't fair—you wouldn't know…every child's fantasy is to be able to fly or be magical. I believed magic existed. We didn't know it was actually real at the time, but—one day, Lily's letter came…but mine didn't—it never did. You couldn't imagine how I felt when she died because of the magic she had gotten blessed with and left _you_ for me—magicless me to take care of you—I was so scared that V—Voldemort would come back and kill me," she breathed out, glancing upstairs at times, in fear of Vernon suddenly stomping down the stairs.

Harry stared at her for a long time, as if seeing her in a new light. "Must have been tough for you."

Aunt Petunia did something Harry had never seen her do. She gave him a smile—thin, but definitely a smile.

Harry grinned back at her, fully appreciating Aunt Petunia as his mother's sister. "Well, see you."

"Wait—you shouldn't travel by b-broom—I—I have some of that fireplace powder—Lily gave me some in case I wanted to ever—ever visit her at Godric's Hollow. I don't know if it still works though," Aunt Petunia dug out a small bag out of the kitchen cabinet and handed it to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said, tugging his belongings in the cramped fireplace and pinched a bit of it inside the now-blown-out fireplace, thanks to Mr. Weasley. "The Burrow!"

He caught one last glimpse of Aunt Petunia staring at him with an expression he could not quite place as the room swirled out of view.

o.O.o.O.o

"Harry! He's here! Harry's _here_, Mione!" Ron grinned at Harry, who was coughing up some soot and brushing the ashes off his clothes. "I knew you would come today. Nice, isn't it? Being able to do magic—_any_ magic." Ron sighed blissfully.

"Ron!" Hermione glowered disapprovingly at him and ran up to Harry. "Oh, _Harry_, you don't know how good it is to see you—everyone—" Hermione paused. Ginny had walked down, her face a mess.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny said in an awfully high-pitched voice. "How are you?"

"Ginny—"Harry made for her to try and talk things out, but Hermione tugged at his shirt, shaking her head no.

"What d'you mean? I _need—_where did she go?" Harry struggled and looked at the spot where Ginny had been.

"Give it time, Harry," Hermione said softly and released her grip on Harry's shirt.

"'Arry! 'ow wonderful eet eez to see you once more! Come, come—we are just preparing for deener," Fleur entered, her long silvery sheet of hair flowing smoothly behind her, smiling at Harry after swooping down to kiss Harry on the cheek.

Harry followed her and saw that nearly twenty people were seated at the squished table. He saw most of members of the Order there, some of them acknowledging him by smiling or waving at him, and all of the Weasley family—including Percy.

Percy immediately walked up to him pompously, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses. "_Harry_! How good to see you again! I hope I find you well?" Percy shook Harry's hand with a forced grip.

Harry grimaced, freeing his hand from Percy's. "As lovely as you can be with Voldemort trying to do you in at each corner, thanks."

Ron grinned at Harry and then brushed it off his face as Hermione glanced at him, scowling.

"Happy birthday, mate!" Fred called out, breaking the temporary silence. He was dressed in a bold red dragon-scaled suit, complete with goblin steel boots. George wore the exact thing, sitting next to him, wearing an identical grin.

"Thanks," Harry smiled, glad not to be thinking about deaths and Voldemort.

"Yeah, happy birthday, Harry!" the rest chorused and presents began zooming towards Harry as some hands ushered him into a seat.

"Er—thanks, thanks—now _really_, I can seat myself, thanks," Harry said, grinning, noticing Fleur and Bill seat him.

"Open up, Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley said, beaming brightly.

Harry smiled. He knew it would be one of the last days of his life being completely happy and without worries.

Soon, wrapping and ribbons were scattered everywhere as Harry finished opening up. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given Harry a most useful Magic Tracer that he knew at once would help him greatly at finding Voldemort's hiding places for his horcruxes. Most of the Order members had given him a wonderfully large mound of chocolate and sweets. Moody gave Harry the photograph of the Order he had shown Harry before. Harry did not feel that revolted at it anymore—in fact, he wanted to see Dumbledore in the picture again. Remus and Tonks gave Harry an enormous scrapbook full of Dumbledore's pictures (including the Chocolate Frog cards) and his great accomplishments that they had managed to compile. "It's not much," Remus began hastily, but Harry was deeply grateful. He also received an interesting letter that no one knew where it came from.

"_Harry—_

_You must return to Hogwarts soon to retrieve the newly yours belongings that once was possessed by Albus Dumbledore. He has passed a few items to you in his will." _

Before he had time to ponder who the addressor was, someone interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Here, Harry," a cloaked figure gave a final gift to Harry.

Harry stared hard at the person. "Mundungus?" he asked, disgusted. He hadn't quite forgotten that Mundungus had stolen Sirius's things right after he died.

The cloaked figure gave a slight dip of its head. Harry hesitantly opened the bulky package.

Sirius's things. Mundungus had given them back.

"Sorry," Mundungus mumbled while Harry stared at the items.

"Thanks," Harry said, staring at the silver pile. A glimpse of gold caught his eye out of the midst of silver and somewhat tarnished items. He held it out, not believing his eyes. It was a locket.

Harry slowly turned it over, not daring to believe it. It was unmistakable. The Slytherin mark with the elaborate 'S'. One of Lord Voldemort's horcrux.

* * *

Author's Note: 

What did you think? If you don't agree with me but thought my story was good, please say so…but please don't flame me if you don't think that my theories are correct (which I doubt they are…but I have this gut feeling thing…)!

Thanks for trying this out…I really appreciate it!


	2. A Horcrux Destroyed

* * *

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

* * *

Author's Note:

This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Two: A Horcrux Destroyed**

Harry breathed in slowly, staring at the heavy locket in his hand. It weighted quite a bit. Startled, he suddenly remembered where he had seen this locket before. It was at Sirius's house before, when he and his friends had been cleaning out the house. It was the locket they could not open. Perhaps that was a good thing. No doubt there would be a fatal curse upon them once it opened.

"How do you destroy something?" Harry asked out loud. The people surrounding him looked at him curiously.

"Harry?" Remus asked gently, placing a warm hand on his. Harry dropped the golden locket with a small thump in surprise.

Harry picked it up again, wondering how lucky he was—out of all places, it had fallen into his hands. Dumbledore must have been watching over him.

"Harry?" Remus repeated, looking at Harry with a look of curiosity.

"This locket," Harry began quickly, "needs to be destroyed immediately."

"What?" People around looked at Harry, a wondering look on their face.

"I—I can feel it—it's a Dark object," Harry said hastily, staring determinedly at the locket, hoping that none of them were skilled Legilimens. He knew that Hermione had shot Ron a knowing look.

Thankfully, no one spoke. Remus cleared the silence. "Harry, I really think it's an ordinary locket…"

"It's not!" Harry burst out angrily before catching himself. "I mean—I know it's not."

"It's already been destroyed, Harry," Remus said quietly, pointing to the burnt hinges on the locket's side.

Harry stared at the burnt side, running his finger over it. "He did it…he did it."

"What?" Remus had heard him and stared hard at him.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, stuffing the locket in his pocket. He needed to talk to Hermione and Ron privately.

He glanced at Hermione and blinked hard. Hermione got the hint and nudged Ron.

"Ouch! What did you—" Ron yelled out angrily before Hermione cut in smoothly, "—dear, dear, Ron! It seems that you've been bitten."

Ron threw her an annoyed glare before mumbling, "Yeah, that must've been it, _Mione_."

Hermione continued on, "That was an excellent dinner, Mrs. Weasley. Harry, we should unpack your things upstairs now."

Harry stood up, glad Hermione came up with a story and nodded his head firmly. "Yes, we should."

"What are you talking about—he's already—" Ron said, frowning slightly.

"Yes, Ron, he's already _finished his dinner_. We can see that," Hermione said placidly and pinched him. Ron finally cottoned on.

"Sorry! Er—just mentioned it in case you didn't notice!" Ron said overly jovially and hurried upstairs after Harry and Hermione.

"Don't you have the feeling they're hiding something from us?" Mrs. Weasley asked, a small frown on her face.

Remus sighed. "Yes, but they can do whatever they want—they're of age now, Molly. There isn't anything we can do."

"I agree with Remus," Mr. Weasley said firmly, ignoring the glare Mrs. Weasley was throwing him. When the other people murmured their assent, Mrs. Weasley finally gave up, a small sigh escaping her lips.

o.O.o.O.o

Harry stopped pacing in the middle of his bedroom. "This—" he said, holding the locket out, "—is another of Voldemort's horcrux."

Hermione nodded. "I thought so, by the way you said that it had to be destroyed."

Ron chuckled lightly. "Ah—that makes things much clearer—I was under the impression that you had a mad obsession of destroying lockets…"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Ron, who saw and gulped. "Blimey—sorry, I know, not a joking matter."

After a while, Harry voiced his decision. "I'm opening it."

Hermione looked horrified. "No, Harry! You mustn't! What if there's a curse inside? You know how V-Voldemort is about Dark objects—especially if it's his soul it's guarding!" Hermione said, frightened. "Stop shaking so, Ron! _Honestly_!"

Harry opened it anyways. To his surprise, it opened easily this time. He had hardly put in any effort, quite unlike the last time at the Black house when he had tried with all his might to pull it apart.

Inside was another dirty piece of parchment. Without hesitation, he folded it open, reading the contents.

"_Only the person seeking to destroy the Dark Lord's horcruxes shall be allowed to open this locket. I, once the Dark Lord's servant, have destroyed this locket and it no longer is a horcrux. However, there are many more horcruxes hiding his soul out there, which I know about: an enchanted diary Malfoy has kept, Marvolo's ring, this locket, a Hufflepuff cup, Nagini—his dear snake, a Ravenclaw relic , and himself. The location of these Horcruxes are in the places that the Dark Lord has visited and regard as very important. I hope that you will succeed in vanquishing the Dark Lord, where as I have failed. _

_Regulas A. Black"_

Harry stared at the filthy piece of parchment, not believing his eyes. He did not show the note to Hermione and Ron, nor did they ask.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked softly, placing her hand on his arm. Ron fidgeted uncomfortably.

"I'm fine," Harry said dully. His brain was repeating, "_Regulas A. Black_, _Regulas A. Black"_ over and over again.

"Ron, I need to show you something. Come on," Hermione said rather loudly, her eye twitching rather fast.

"Okay. Harry, you coming?" Ron asked, not catching on.

"I think that Hermione wants to talk to you alone," Harry said, noticing the pained look on Hermione's face as she looked at Ron.

"Oh," Ron said, an odd expression on his face as he followed Hermione out the door.

"Ron, honestly, Harry wanted to be alone! Didn't you see that?" Hermione exploded as soon as the two were in the hallway.

Harry closed the door quickly and sat down on his bed, staring at the note again. Sirius's brother—the one who had gotten himself killed by Voldemort. It all fitted…he was so stupid not to have noticed it before. RAB. Of course.

He read the note over again. He was mentally checking off things that had already been destroyed. _The diary, the ring, the locket_…he was nearly halfway done somehow. Harry just needed to find the rest. But where to begin?

The Hufflepuff cup, he had no idea where to look…the snake, Nagini, was with Voldemort and he knew that he would face them sooner or later, there was not much to worry there. But the sixth horcrux—the Ravenclaw item…he did not know who had it in their hands now. The world was too big and he had too little time to find them. He could only hope that luck was on his side.

"Harry?" a small voice interrupted his thoughts.

Harry looked at the opened door. It was Ginny, her hair messy and eyes rimmed with red. She did look horrible.

Ginny glanced at him, her face fidgeting to put on an expression. She broke down.

"Harry…" she sobbed weakly, throwing herself on Harry. "Harry, I don't give a damn, you know that—I want to be with you—I don't care if I die."

Harry was quite taken aback that Ginny, the one who had been so strong was crashing at his shoulders. "Ginny…"

"Harry, I won't die," Ginny said confidently, looking into Harry's eyes. Harry knew she was telling the truth. "Trust me."

"I just don't want you to risk anything, Ginny," Harry said, almost begging her to reconsider.

Ginny shook her head. "Harry, I'm going with you. There's nothing you can do about it."

Harry opened his mouth and after a moment, closed it. "But if I snuff it, go find yourself someone, all right?" Harry tried to smile.

Ginny stared at him, a hardening look on her face. "That's not funny, Harry."

"I mean it."

A laughter broke through Ginny and Harry's conversation. Both turned to look at the door.

"Hi, Harry! Ginny—you're out of your bedroom!" Ron grinned widely and he looked oddly overly happy.

"Ron? What's the matter with you? Hermione?" Harry peered behind Ron and saw a pink-faced Hermione.

"N-nothing," Hermione stuttered and turned a deeper shade of pink.

"Well, off to ah—downstairs!" Ron said, humming loudly as he and Hermione left quickly.

"I'm a mess…"Ginny said, smiling some as she went off for her room, leaving Harry quite alone.

o.O.o.O.o **TWO WEEKS LATER **o.O.o.O.o

"Excellent day, isn't it, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, beaming as she rearranged the tiara on Fleur's head. Fleur was smiling brightly as well.

"'Ow do I look, 'Arry?" Fleur asked, rearranging the elaborate silver wedding robes she had donned.

"Er—very beautiful," Harry said awkwardly, throwing a glance at Ginny, who didn't turn dangerous or give him a death glare. She looked strangely happy.

Ron and Hermione entered the room, hand-in-hand, and noticing the people, quickly let go.

"Hi! Just seeing how pretty erm—Fleur would look on her wedding day!" Hermione said in a high-pitched voice. "Fleur, you look _magnificent_!" Hermione gushed in a not-like-Hermione way.

"Thank you," Fleur looked positively jubilant.

"There! I hope Bill's ready…" Mrs. Weasley gave a final brush of Fleur's long rippling hair and smiled.

"We'll go check!" Ron offered quickly and Apparated with Hermione away, who turned faintly pink again before disappearing—something she had picked up the last few weeks.

Mrs. Weasley eyed sharply after them. "Harry, you wouldn't know what's gotten into the pair of them lately, would you?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley," Harry lied. He had suspicions that Ron and Hermione were indeed a _pair_ now. Ginny and him shared a knowing smirk.

"And _really_, they don't need to be Apparating and Disapparating every twenty minutes! They're into something like Fred and George, goodness! I don't see _you_ doing that!" Mrs. Weasley said rather crossly, absently brushing Fleur's platinum hair. "I'm just glad that nothing went wrong for your Apparation test…it's a good thing that Ron passed this time—Fred and George had been making some snide remarks about him, poor Ronniekins.."

A bit later, Ron and Hermione returned with a large crack and announced that Bill was now ready.

"Wonderful! Let's get going, dears—the wedding's in the backyard," Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands together in delight and then ushered everyone out.

"'Arry Potter!" a breathless, smaller version of Fleur ran up to Harry, beaming a perfect, white smile.

"Er—hi. Are you erm, Gabrielle?" Harry asked, remembering Fleur's sister's name.

"Oui, oui! I am so excited to meet you, 'Arry!" Gabrielle said, swishing her hair over her shoulder. Ginny looked positively livid at Harry's side.

"_Hem, hem_," Ginny said, doing an infallible imitation of Dolores Umbridge that made Harry jump before grinning as soon as he saw that Umbridge had definitely not been invited to the wedding. "Excuse us, _Gabrielle_. The wedding's about to begin."

Bill had come out, still looking as scarred as ever, especially when he attempted to smile, but Fleur gave him an adoring glance. Fleur, he knew, did not care.

The wedding was small and not many people attended. Harry wondered, throughout the ceremony, how something so wonderful and full of love could occur in these dark times.

Ginny had been staring through the wedding and looked startled when Harry gently squeezed her hand. She smiled at him and laid a warm, calming hand on his.

After the wedding ceremony was over, Harry retreated to his bedroom and found the looming mission stuck in his mind once again. He _had_ to find the horcruxes…destroy them…destroy Voldemort before he got…killed. He would not let Dumbledore down.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yes, I know that I do not write _anything_ like J.K. Rowling, but I just wanted to voice my theories…I hope you enjoyed it for the story and if I happened to convince you about a certain theory, that's even better!

Thanks again for trying this story. It means a lot to me..

**Thanks to my awesome reviewers : Harry Potter Ninja, wizardflake1986, harry and the potter, supermantitanium, firebirdgs! **

Wizardflake1986 : Yes, I bet that J K R will make Harry go around in a mad wild goose chase before letting him find the locket...sorry for speeding it all up...I'm trying to finish all my fics before the summer's over..


	3. A Quest to Begin

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

* * *

Author's Note:

This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Three: A Quest To Begin**

Harry stared out the small window in his bedroom. He had not slept the entire night. Instead, he was pondering what he was going to do, where he was going to go.

As dawn came, he packed hurriedly and took only the things he was sure he was going to need: his wand he pocketed in his flowing black robes, the Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's Map he felt he somehow needed, the Magic Tracer from the Weasley's and nothing else. He sighed as he stroked Hedwig and left the Weasleys a farewell note.

Harry took his now much lighter luggage and silently descended the stairs.

He was nearly out the door when someone said in a strong, unwavering voice, "I'm coming with you."

It was Ginny. She had been sitting at the kitchen table with Ron and Hermione, who also looked like they hadn't slept the entire night as well.

"I know I can't stop you guys," Harry said a bit exasperated, sighing.

Ginny smiled. "Good. I was prepared to use the Bat-Bogey Hex on you should you had attempted to stop us."

"Nothing can stop you, can it?" Harry smiled as well.

Ginny did not blink. "Nothing."

"Well, let's get going!" Ron said in a hearty voice that did not match his face.

Hermione nodded and they clutched their baggage.

They went out to find a mist of adventure, a looming danger, and an eternal bond of friendship and love.

o.O.o.O.o

"So, where are we headed?" Ron asked as soon as they stepped outside.

"Hogwarts first," Harry said simply. He had thought it all out the night before. "To visit Dumbledore one last time before I attempt this journey."

"All right. We need to Apparate with a good distance away though—you know you can't Apparate onto Hogwarts grounds!" Hermione reminded them and Harry was reminded deeply how she had once said that so many years ago. Harry gripped onto Ginny's arm and all of them squinted, envisioning the beloved castle where they all had learned magic from.

They appeared with a loud crack a few blocks away and walked towards the castle.

Hermione frowned. "Harry…you won't be able to get in—not with all the security it has going on…"

"We'll see," was all Harry said. They had arrived at the front of the gate.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," a voice called out from inside the gate and it proceeded to open the gate for them.

It was the barman from Hog's Head. Harry stared at him, dumbfounded. "Aren't you from Hogsmeade?"

The barman merely nodded and said, "I am Aberforth Dumbledore, brother of the late Albus Dumbledore. It was I, who wrote that letter to you during your birthday."

Harry winced at the usage of 'late' but did not say anything and followed Aberforth into the castle. He could not see how Dumbledore had such a brother so unlike him.

"Come inside," Aberforth gave the password to the gargoyle and it jumped aside, admitting them.

They went through the spiral staircase and stepped into Dumbledore's office. It was still intact and nothing had been removed. The only thing off was the absence of Fawkes.

"Albus left you a couple of things in his will. _Albus_! Dear brother, wake up! Harry Potter is here," Aberforth called out to the recent portrait of Dumbledore behind him.

"I understand that, Aberforth. I was merely pretending to sleep like so many of my colleagues have done. Have some fun, dear Aberforth," Dumbledore smiled at all of them as he readjusted his half-moon spectacles on his long, crooked nose.

"Hello, Harry. I have indeed left you some possessions of mine and have come to give you some advice," Dumbledore continued.

"The Pensieve, is yours…however, the Pensieve cannot be taken out of the castle. If you need to ever use it, you must come to the castle. My office will be open to you at all times. The other thing I am going to give you is Fawkes. Fawkes has gone for now, but he will return in your time of greatest need—your darkest hour. Truth to be told, I believe he has grown rather fond of you and even if I had not given him to you, he would still go to you. Now, for my advice. Do not seek revenge on Severus Snape, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly, noticing that Harry's mouth was open to protest.

"Sir, why do you trust Snape so much? He—he _killed_ you!" Harry was outraged, sick of Dumbledore being so trusting on everyone, even the person that betrayed him and murdered him.

"Harry, I am perfectly clear who killed me. Trust me, Harry. Do not seek revenge on him. You will know my reason. You have a more important task to do—you need to defeat Voldemort. Further more, do not, whatever you do, forget all that I have told you. Love is the most important and powerful object in the world. It is not tangible and its force can leave us overwhelmed, ripped free of evil and life. You must remember this, Harry. What is more is that I cannot give you any advice any longer—I can only do so much. I have gone, Harry, so please do not think that this portrait is a substitute of me, for it never will be. Although this portrait might sometimes beg for cuddly socks or scratch its nose, I have truly gone. Good luck, Harry, and may you succeed." Dumbledore suddenly halted, closed his eyes, and emitted a loud snore, breathing deeply again.

Harry stared at Dumbledore's portrait, still not quite believing what Dumbledore had told him about Snape.

Aberforth cleared his throat. "That is all, I think. Quite crazy, my brother."

"Do not speak of him like that!" Harry said sharply, his wand raised.

"Silly boy," Aberforth muttered but he did not say anything else and left the office.

Harry looked at the Pensieve, watching the silvery contents swirl like a violent maelstrom.

_Why do you trust Snape so much—after all he's done? _Harry thought, blinking tears back.

Snape's face formed. He was extremely pale and looked frightened. "Dumbledore—Dumbledore…I _told_ Voldemort! I _told_. He did not do as he promised me. He killed her! He killed _her_!" His angry voice echoed over and over again in the small office.

Suddenly, it switched to another memory—one of no doubt, Lily Evans near by the lake with James Potter, strolling along hand-in-hand. They looked cheerful and were talking happily. Lily laughed when James made a joke. James then leaned in and kissed Lily. A sallow-faced, pale boy with a hooked nose framed by raven hair standing hidden by a tree glared after the pair. He threw a small bouquet of delicate flowers he had conjured to the ground and crushed it. It was Snape.

Then another memory…it was Snape, frightened, shaking, dripping with water. He had just come in from the rain. The room was dark, unnaturally dark. Snape spoke quickly with his head bowed low, "My Lord, I have just come from overhearing a prophecy—a prophecy regarding _you_, My Lord."

"Speak," a high, chilling voice commanded. Snape nodded.

"Sibyll Trelawney prophesized: _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…"_ Snape said in his silky voice, to Harry's horror.

"The Longbottoms…or the Potters," Voldemort pondered out loud.

"The Potters, surely—they are getting more powerful," Snape said. Harry was shaking with fury.

"Indeed…I will wait after the Mudblood has given birth and then I will approach their house. You say someone close to them has come to our side? Who?"

"Peter Pettigrew—Wormtail. He is trying to convince Sirius Black to let him be the Secret Keeper for the Potters if they are to go into hiding. Just like you predicted, My Lord," Snape said, smirking.

"I shall kill this _infant_ who cannot be powerful enough to defeat me…an infant," Voldemort scoffed.

"My Lord, may I make a simple request?" Snape asked cautiously.

Voldemort did not speak for a while. "Your reward, of course. What do you want Severus?"

"Do not kill the girl—the Mudblood, I beg of you, My Lord," Snape said quickly.

"She is a Mudblood—a disgrace to wizards—I will dispose of her," Voldemort said indifferently.

"My Lord, please—I—I owe her my life—I am in debt to her…My Lord, please, you know the effects of a wizard debt…could you save me…?" Snape said, desperately pleading this time, a note of panic rising in his normally silky voice.

Voldemort laughed. "My dear Severus, you should have said it sooner…I will not kill the Mudblood. You may leave now, Severus."

Again, it swirled and showed Dumbledore extracting thoughts from Snape's head and placing them into his pensieve.

Harry nearly collapsed. Ginny held on to him.

"Harry…"

"Snape—my mum _saved_ him…" Harry whispered in horror.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think so, Harry. I think that Snape was just using that as an excuse. I think he was in love with your mum…"

Harry jerked his head. "No…"

Ron looked uncomfortable. "I think Snape let Dumbledore enter his mind, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes. _So Snape let him see his thoughts. He was really on our side. _

But he would not let in sink in. "He could've made those thoughts up! WHY DID HE KILL DUMBLEDORE?"

"Harry, Dumbledore was a highly skilled Legilimens…and if Snape had been lying, he would have suffered major memory injuries later on…but he hasn't, has he? I think Dumbledore made a sacrifice. Oh, don't you see, Harry? Dumbledore—that's his greatest weakness and most powerful force at the same time: he sees the good in people…he loves. You said that Snape made an Unbreakable Vow—Snape would have had to finish out whatever Malfoy was going to do—kill Dumbledore—so he _had _to, Harry! He had to!" Hermione was nearly in hysterics, her voice rising.

Harry stared open-mouthed at all of them. "It can't be true, can it?"

"I think it is, Harry," Ginny said calmly, placing a hand on Harry to stabilize him.

"I was going to kill him—seek revenge," Harry said quietly.

"Good thing you didn't," Hermione said softly.

"At least that's one enemy you don't have to kill, eh, Harry?" Ron said, forcing a joke in the tense atmosphere. When nobody smiled and only glared at him, he sighed. "You lot—get real! We need to get rid of Voldemort's crazy soul-splitted things! He could do us in any moment now!"

Harry slowly nodded. "You're right, Ron. Getting a bit out of it. Thanks, mate."

"Any time," Ron said, grinning.

Harry returned the grin, his heart feeling oddly lighter in days.

* * *

Author's Note:

Ahh, I explained a lot of my theories, didn't I?

Yes, I do believe that either Snape loved Lily or that Lily did something great for him (like saving his life) so that he begged Lord Voldie to not kill her. Otherwise, why would Voldie, who killed countless Mudbloods—as he calls them—and says to Lily, "Stand aside, you silly girl—you don't **need** to die…" (or something of the sort…forgot the exact quote, but I'm dead sure it's quite similar..) Why would Voldie show mercy for Lily? I don't see her as the Death Eater type…soo…yeah, my theory.

I just have a bit of theory that I haven't figured out yet. Yes, it involves a horcrux…the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw one, in fact! However, I believe that the horcrux is actually a Ravenclaw relic as the only Gryffindor one is the sword and I can't see that as being one, oddly enough…so a Ravenclaw relic…if anyone knows anything about a Ravenclaw relic, please include it in your review! It would greatly help me out…otherwise I might just invent something crazy…ahh, why not…you can do that too…invent a Ravenclaw relic to be a horcrux! I already know where I'm going to be hiding these Horcruxes…so just the item, please! Thanks.

Yes, this is the list of Horcruxes that I believe contains Lord Voldie's soul pieces:

Tom Riddle's diary – destroyed

Marvolo's ring – destroyed

The Slytherin locket – destroyed

Hufflepuff cup – still a Horcrux

Ravenclaw relic – still a Horcrux

Nagini – still a Horcrux

Lord Voldemort's body – still there

Anyways, please review!

Thank you.

**Thanks to Harry Potter Ninja, hphotshot, firebirdgs, and Silenius!**

_firebirdgs _: wow, i'm inspiration? haha, thanks!

_Silenius_ : Thanks for all the compliments! It makes me feel appreciated around here..


	4. A Helpful Hint

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

Author's Note:

This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

**Chapter Four: A Helpful Hint **

"Harry, are you sure we're going the right way?" Hermione asked for the third time.

"_Yes_, Hermione! I asked that bloke in Hogsmeade, didn't I?" Harry answered impatiently as the four trudged along.

"He could be lying! It could all be a trap, Harry," Hermione cried, exasperated.

"Why would anyone want to spring a trap in Godric's Hollow?" Harry asked, stopping.

"They know you might go there—it's your parent's house, for Merlin's sake!" Hermione said, looking frightened.

"No one said that this journey wasn't dangerous, Hermione. If any of you guys want to go, go now," Harry said patiently, looking at all three.

"Rubbish, Harry, we're in with you," Ron said immediately, throwing a glare at Hermione, who nodded firmly. Ginny just looked at Harry in the eyes, and Harry knew her answer.

"Right then," Harry said and they walked on once more.

It was getting dark already; some stars were already springing out from behind the stormy clouds.

Harry muttered, '_Lumos_' just as he heard the other three do the same.

They finally reached their destination. The Potters' house was a tidy, large mansion, but the front yawn looked like it hadn't been touched in years; the weeds had grown at an alarming rate and were almost as tall as the front door.

"_Reducto_!" Harry blasted a pathway through the thick weeds to the front door.

He stared at the doorway, thinking about the night his parents were murdered…here, at this house.

"Well, come on," Harry said in a hearty voice that was most definitely not his.

They walked across the pathway and Harry gently tried the door. It was unlocked.

Hermione gave a shriek as she saw something large scuttling across the doorframe. Ron yelled, "_Stupefy_!" and the creature stopped in midair.

"Just a...spider," Ron said, breathing heavily as he shook slightly. He looked foreboded at the dark house. Hermione muttered an, "_Honestly_."

Hermione lit the room for them using a tricky spell and the whole house lightened up. There were cobwebs everywhere and even though outside, the house looked clean and tidy, the inside of it was a wreck. There was a thin sheet of dust and squeaking noises, no doubt made by rats that had inhabited the house in recent years.

Harry stepped to the place he had seen so many times in his dream. The place where his dad had died, murdered by Voldemort himself, as he shouted to his wife to take Harry and run…The place James Potter died.

He then walked over to the stairs—the stairs Lily, his mum, had run on, desperate to find a way out. He ran up the stairs, closely followed by his friends and entered the room his mum had died, defending him, thus giving him an ancient magic that protected Harry from harm. An old, crickety-looking baby's crib stood abandoned, turned over on its side and the window was still wide open after all the years. A chilling breeze blew in and Ginny walked over to close it.

Harry left the room, not being able to take it any more.

"It's getting late. We better Apparate down to that inn we passed when we came here," Harry decided quietly, and they nodded.

They appeared with a large _pop_ next to the Wicked Witch Inn and went inside to take two rooms.

"On your right," the blonde witch said monotonously, pointing to the stairs. Hermione stared at the witch a moment before Ron nudged her.

"Thanks," Hermione said hurriedly, and they left with the two keys that looked oddly like bones.

"Ginny and I will be next door, if you need anything," Hermione said as she stuffed the bone key into Room 138. It opened with a large crack.

Harry nodded and looked at the bone key, inserting it in Room 142, which was interestingly next door to 138.

Harry shook his head and Ron and he walked inside the room.

o.O.o.O.o

There was a knock on his door. "Harry? Have you and Ron woken up yet?"

It was Hermione.

"Hi. Ginny and I brought breakfast," Hermione said, entering when Harry opened the door.

"Morning, Harry!" Ginny said pleasantly, giving Harry a quick kiss.

Ron deliberately looked away and busied himself with eating the muffin Hermione handed him.

Suddenly Ron's face began turning blue and started choking, coughing loudly. Hermione began wailing, not a spell coming to her head in panic.

"_Levicorpus_," Harry thought quickly, flicking his wand at Ron.

Ron immediately turned upside down and the muffin popped out.

"_Liberacorpus." _

Ron's face took on its normal hue, and Ron shot Harry a grateful grin. "Thanks mate, I owe you one."

"No problem," Harry said, smiling.

Ron's face looked thoughtful. "That's strange. I thought I bit into something hard, but I swallowed it already…Blimey, what the hell _is_ this?" Ron asked horrified, as he unearthed a rock, situated in the center of the muffin.

"_Reducto_," Hermione prodded her wand at the rock after holding it a minute or so, and it exploded into pieces, leaving a small piece of parchment inside.

"How did you know that it was in there?" Ron asked, looking impressed at Hermione.

"Magic leaves traces," Hermione said simply, and Harry looked at her strangely. He was strongly reminded of what Dumbledore had once said to him.

"How does it leave traces?" Harry asked quickly as this was one of the questions that had escaped his mind to ask Dumbledore.

Hermione looked surprised. "Why, magic makes an object or place warmer than its surroundings. Usually, you can feel it and if not, then objects like the Magic Tracer that the Weasley's got for you should do the trick, unless it's a highly guarded object."

Harry remembered how Dumbledore felt around, fingering the surroundings and understood. "Thanks."

Ron in the meantime, had already opened the parchment. "'_There is something you might find interesting at the graveyard, Potter.'_ It doesn't say who it's from, Harry."

"That's just dandy—someone else trying to do me in…excellent," Harry said sarcastically, snatching at the piece of parchment to rip it.

Hermione made for it. "Wait, Harry. _Specialis Revelio!_"

Nothing happened. A name did not appear, and Hermione sighed, handing it back.

Harry stared at the parchment. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar, but he could not place where he saw it. He shrugged, absently stuffing it into his jeans and they made off to visit Harry's parents's graves.

They arrived there mid-noon and Harry found the two tombs, sitting next to each other under a large willow tree.

"Hi, Mum, Dad," Harry said softly, bending down. Behind him, Ron and Hermione looked uncomfortable and Ginny looked away.

Hermione conjured some white lilies and placed them down, muttering a small, 'hi', before stepping back again.

"Dad…Mum…" Harry traced the deep engravings in the headstone and one of his hands pressed down on the earth in front of his mother's grave.

He pulled his hand back quickly. The ground burned. He stared, puzzled and asked Ron, who was standing nearby, staring determinedly at someone's grave. "Ron! Is there anything unusual about a wizard's grave?"

Ron frowned. "I dunno. They don't do much—just lower the tomb and start filling in the dirt."

"Nothing magical?"

"I don't think so," Ron said, shrugging his large shoulders.

Harry stared at his mother's grave and felt the ground again. It was still very hot. He brushed a hand over at the ground in front of his father's grave, but it was rather cool. Suddenly, Harry noticed a glint of gold blinking brightly at him out from all the mundane brown dirt.

Harry began digging furiously at it, unearthing it out as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came back to ask what he was doing.

"Magic," Harry said quietly and pulled out the object. It was a golden cup, and was molten hot. Harry let go of it quickly and it fell to the soft dirt and rolled over. There was a Hufflepuff crest stamped at the center of the large cup. He stared at it, wondering if it was the same one as Voldemort's horcrux.

"I think it's one of his horcruxes…I've seen this Hufflepuff cup before—Voldemort saw it too. He took it from that lady, Hepzibah Smith," Harry explained.

"Hepzibah _Smith_? Hufflepuff, you say? Say, isn't that nasty little bloke Zacharias also named Smith?" Ron asked, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes," Ginny nodded. "He's in Hufflepuff as well."

Harry was still staring at the cup with a questioning look.

Hermione muttered, "_Specialis Revelio_."

The cup gleamed a bright red before sprouting the words 'Helga Hufflepuff' at the brim of the cup. The words disappeared a minute later.

"It's authentic, all right," Hermione said, bending down to pick the cup up.

"Careful, it's hot," Harry cautioned. Hermione set a Cooling Charm on it, which lowered the temperature of the cup down a considerable amount.

"Oh this is absolutely horrid," Hermione began, "I'm about to destroy a Hogwarts artifact! I hope Dumbledore forgives me."

"Dumbledore would have wanted another piece of Voldemort's soul destroyed, Hermione," Harry said quietly.

Hermione had a pained look on her face. "Yes, of course—what am I saying? Sorry, Harry."

Hermione muttered a spell no one could understand and the cup suddenly burst with a loud explosion and a large crack appeared at the side of the cup. "There!" Hermione said happily. Suddenly, her skin began to sprout what seemed like millions of boils, all oozing her blood. The other three stared at her bewildered. Harry quickly put a Freezing Charm on her and the boils stopped bursting. She had already lost quite a lot of blood.

"_Mione_," Ron breathed out, stricken-faced.

"Ron, you take Hermione to St. Mungo's and stay there with her—Ginny and I will keep going," Harry commanded, taking control of the situation.

"But we can't leave you, Harry!" Ron protested, but his hand moved towards Hermione.

Harry held a hand up. "I have to do this alone, Ron. I can't let anyone else that I care for get hurt."

Ron pointed at Ginny. "What about her, Harry? _Alone_? What did you say to me about not letting my little sister get harmed?"

"I can't stop her, Ron. You know that," Harry said quietly, and Ginny nodded, affirming this as she held on to Harry's arm.

Ron straightened up, looking much older, much mature. "I wish you luck, Harry. We're always here for you."

Harry nodded. "Ron, you were my best mate—ever."

Ron paled slightly. "Don't say that, Harry. We are best mates—don't say it in the past tense—you _are_ my best mate."

"The best of mates, Ron," Harry said, a grim smile on his face as he clapped a hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron nodded.

"Oh, you two," Ginny said suddenly, her eyes watering, and suddenly dived down and hugged her knees, no doubt crying her eyes out.

"_Mad_! I never thought Ginny was such a touchy girl. Women—they make everything look so sentimental," Ron said, shaking his head as Ginny whacked him in the knee.

Harry grinned and watched with a sinking heart as Ron carried Hermione in his arms and Apparted to St. Mungo's.

Harry stooped down and laid a hand on Ginny's shoulder. She hugged him tightly.

"Harry, we're going to make it through this, aren't we?"

Harry did not know the answer.

Author's Note:

YESS! ONE MORE DOWN! Poor Hermione though…yes, I have a feeling that either Hermione or Ron or Ginny gets hurt…but I decided to make it Hermione because well…it would make Ron seem more like a hero Apparating her to St. Mungo's, right? Haha.

THE HORCRUX LIST:

Tom Riddle's diary – destroyed Marvolo's ring – destroyed The Slytherin locket – destroyed Hufflepuff cup – destroyed Ravenclaw relic – still a Horcrux Nagini – still a Horcrux Lord Voldemort's body – still there 

Yess, Harry is over halfway there! But the easy part's over…now…it's much harder to deal with. And yes, Harry did get a tip-off…I'm supposing that you guys know who I'm talking about…if not, it will be revealed in later chapters!

I hope you enjoyed this…I know I'm not much of an adventure writer…and I think I should stick with the Marauder's Era stories…

Anyways, tell me what you think please! Thanks.

I'm really sorry about the fast-pacing...yes, I do realize it...it's just that school's going to start in a few weeks and I want to end this with seven chapters...hope you guys understand..

**Thanks to all my reviewers! I did not think I would get so many in one chapter! **

**Thanks also to everyone who posted in ideas for the Ravenclaw relic--I'm sorry I could not use all of them!**

firebirdgs: thanks for the idea!

Cassandra Lee: thanks for pointing out the mistake, I'll change the wedding date!

Rebecca Victoria Rushton: thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Sylvia Snape: You pointed out something very important...I just think that Wormtail wanted Sirius to think that and kept dropping hints about it, making Sirius turn around and stuff...sorry for the crazy explanation...

ERMonkey Burner of Cookies: sorry, made a mistake! thanks.

swivelchair: I meant that Ron went with Harry to take the Apparation test, since he failed the first time...poor Ron!

Manus Dei: I'm afraid I might disappoint you...

**For the two flames that I got about how I can't write and cussing me out...(which I believe is actually one flamer, who flamed two times)...well, it seems that _you_ can write...so why don't you take over? **


	5. Ravenclaw's Relic

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

* * *

Author's Note:

This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Ravenclaw's Relic**

"Harry…" Ginny paused, breaking away from Harry's arms, looking at the now innocent golden Hufflepuff cup, staring up at the pair.

"What is it, Ginny?" Harry glanced at Ginny.

"There's something inside the cup," Ginny was about to place her hand to retrieve it when Harry caught her hand, shaking his head no.

"_Waddiwassi_," and a wave later, the parchment shot out of the cup. Harry caught it with ease.

"What does it say?"

"_You must return to Hogwarts at once_. _There is something you greatly desire there,_" Harry read out loud and saw it was the same handwriting that told him to go to the graveyard.

"Is this person trying to help me or what?"

Ginny shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, the hex on that cup was horrid, but it _was_ a horcrux, wasn't it? Hermione destroyed it, so that's one more down. But, placing the note inside the horcrux for you to retrieve it wasn't that nice. What if the hex hadn't gone?"

"I'm pretty sure the hex is gone, because Dumbledore had Marvolo's ring and he was fine then. I'm just not letting you take any chances with it," Harry said.

"So are we going to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded. "Yes, not only because of this note though. I need to visit Dumbledore again."

"All right."

Harry stood up and helped Ginny up.

"Ready?"

"What else can I say?" Ginny asked, grinning as she stood up.

A mere minute later, they arrived at the castle again.

"Anyone in there?" Harry shouted across the gate. He watched with a sinking heart as no one came to open the gate.

Finally, when he thought all hope was lost, Aberforth came stumbling to the door. "Harry Potter! You again, eh?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. I need to get inside."

Aberforth grunted, "Fine. Come inside."

Harry and Ginny hurried through the gate and went to the entrance of the castle.

Harry opened it up with a great heave. He ran up to Dumbledore's office and quickly muttered the old password, wondering if it changed already.

It hadn't. The two ran up the spiral staircase and into Dumbledore's office.

"Professor!" Harry said to the portrait, out of breath.

"Good evening, Harry. I cannot give you advice any longer," Dumbledore yawned.

"Yes, yes, I know that, sir. It's just that I've come to inform you that I have destroyed another horcrux—the Hufflepuff cup," Harry said impatiently.

Dumbledore became serious at once. "Have you now?"

"Yes."

"That's good—_very_ good, Harry. I wish I could guide you more, but I believe the time has come for you to lead your own way. Where are Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley?"

"Hermione—she destroyed the Horcrux, but it had a hex on it and gave her boils that kept squirting her blood out. I told Ron to take Hermione and go to St. Mungo's for treatment," Harry explained.

"That's good of you to do that, Harry. So you have now come back to Hogwarts merely to inform me of this?" Dumbledore gave Harry a knowing look.

"Er—well, actually Professor, someone wrote me a note and it said that I will find something I desire most greatly here at Hogwarts," Harry said sheepishly.

Dumbledore's face sharpened. "You say you do not know who sent you the note, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "But this person already wrote me once and it led me to the Hufflepuff cup, so I don't think the person is dangerous."

Dumbledore's face relaxed at hearing these words. "I see…it must be."

"What must be, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.

"You will find out this piece of information soon, I daresay. I would like for you to explore the castle now and please take Godric's sword," Dumbledore said with a small smile and promptly closed his eyes, feigning sleep again.

Harry sighed, irritated that Dumbledore would not tell him anymore than that and left the office with Ginny with Godric Gryffindor's sword.

"This is just bloody great! I still don't know how to destroy a Horcrux, let alone where else it could be!" Harry exploded angrily as he paced in the hallway.

"Hogwarts might have some books on how to destroy magical objects," Ginny suggested.

Harry stopped his pacing. "Books. _Books_. I've almost forgotten! Snape's book!"

"What?" Ginny looked confused as Harry took her hand.

"Come on—we're going to the Room of Requirement."

o.O.o.O.o

"I need a place to hide something," Harry thought out loud and the door rematerialized before his eyes.

He seized it open and walked in with Ginny.

"Place full of rubbish, eh?" Ginny asked casually, turning things over as she walked through the room.

Harry threw open the cupboard and took out the Half-Blood Prince's old potions book. He impatiently blew away the thin layer of dust it had accumulated in recent months and opened it up. There it was.

Harry now realized that the two hints he had been given were from Snape—the handwriting was unmistakable.

"Snape again," Harry muttered rather bitterly. "I owe him by now."

He flipped rapidly through the pages, thinking, 'I need a way to destroy a Horcrux' repeatedly.

"Oh come on, Snape! We all know you know so many Dark arts that they could be flowing from your damn ears!" Hary cried out exasperatedly, flipping through the 500's.

His hands stopped on page 651. There, scribbled at the bottom corner was '_Liberamagic –to strip an object free of its magic.' _

Harry silently thanked Snape, however much he still hated him.

"Hey—what's a wand doing in here?" Ginny asked, holding up a wand, puzzled.

Harry froze. "A wand?"

Ginny nodded, showing Harry the red-oak wand. It was unusually thin.

Harry took the light-weighted wand into his hands.

"It can't be…_here_, at Hogwarts?" Harry murmured, shocked. "But then again, I'm not too surprised…she _was_ one of the founders here."

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I think this is Ravenclaw's wand. I've been thinking a while and since Ravenclaw's known for smarts, I thought a book, perhaps…but I think a wand's more suitable for Voldemort to use as a horcrux. But why it would be here in Hogwarts of all places…" Harry trailed off, apparently thinking hard.

"Should we destroy it?"

"Yes. Time to see if Snape's spell has any use," Harry muttered '_Liberamagic'_ and waited a minute. The wand glowed red for a few seconds before returning normal.

"_Reducto_," Harry pointed at the cupboard that had held the potions book and tried a spell, seeing if Snape's spell did anything to the wand. A large hole appeared in the cupboard.

"Damn it! It didn't work," Harry swore angrily, staring irately at the wand.

"Let me try something," Ginny offered and took the wand, snapping it in half.

Ginny smiled in triumph at how easy it was to destroy it, but half a minute later, it automatically mended itself.

"What…?" Ginny's smile disappeared.

"That's strange…how the hell are we supposed to destroy it then?" Harry asked, staring hard at the wand.

"_Reducto_," Ginny shot at it, but the wand mended once again.

They tried melting, Vanishing it, but it kept returning.

Ginny was thinking hard again when Harry suddenly said, "Seven."

"Harry?"

"Seven," Harry repeated. "Break it into seven parts—seven is a magical number like Voldemort said, so if we break it into seven parts, it won't be magical anymore, right?"

Ginny nodded slowly. "I guess I can see your reasoning. Yes, I suppose that we could try that out."

"We have to hurry…before it mends itself," Harry said and snapped the wand in two, giving Ginny a half of it to break.

Hurriedly, they broke it into sevenths and sighed when after a minute, the wand did not restore itself again. The parts lay strewn across the wooden floor.

"That—was a task straight from hell," Harry shook his head.

"Good thinking though, Harry," Ginny said, looking impressed.

"Thanks," Harry grinned.

* * *

Author's Note:

I know, I know…too fast! I hear you guys, but I want to finish this up in seven chapters…and I need to finish up my other stories which might take a while…so, I'm really sorry, but I've decided that. Just blame it on stupid school and stupid vacation in a week...

Harry has destroyed all the horcruxes now except for Nagini and Lord Voldie. Yess!

But, like I said before, the easy part's over.


	6. Panic

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

Author's Note:

This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

**Chapter Six: Panic**

Harry and Ginny went out of the Room of Requirement, feeling much happier now that they managed to destroy yet another horcrux.

They were off the grounds when Harry heard a low hissing. He whipped around, holding his wand out.

It was a large snake—and Harry knew it was Nagini.

He could not believe his luck and did not ponder to think why Nagini—Lord Voldemort's snake—would be loose on here.

Harry stared at Nagini. The snake slithered closer to Harry and was now almost two feet in front of him. Ginny stood back a bit.

"_A human…_" the snake hissed venomously, flicking out its tongue.

"_Nagini_…" Harry said back in Parseltongue.

"_You know the snake language?_"

"_Yes, just like your master.._"

"_Master…master promised to feed me…he has not yet."_

_"Why are you over at the Dark side? You can get much better here—I can supply you with prey—large rats_." Harry hissed, thinking immediately of Wormtail.

"_I am hungry…I have not been fed in many days…but I will not leave Master._"

"_Why not?"_

_"I cannot leave Master._"

"_You cannot?"_

_"There is a special bond between my master and I, boy…that you may never dream of…"_

_"Bond?" _Harry pressed eagerly. Dumbledore's theory was probably correct!

_"I will say no more!" _

Ginny had backed away a few feet, obviously scared of Nagini, who had hissed most menacingly now.

"_Come closer, Nagini_…"

"_Why?"_

_"I have something great to give you."_ Harry stooped down to the ground.

The snake slithered over to Harry, glaring suspiciously at him.

Harry suddenly had an impulse to hug Nagini. He fought back—it was a _snake_—but he felt an invisible hand guide him and reluctantly, he hugged Nagini.

The snake spluttered and hissed loudly. "_It burns_!"

Harry hugged tighter. The snake finally went limp, and disappeared.

Harry stood up frantically. "Nagini! Where did she go?"

"She has gone, Potter."

Harry turned around. It was Snape.

"Snape! What are you doing here?" Harry had his wand raised, still slightly suspicious.

"Put your wand down, Potter. I am the one that has guided you throughout your journey, on Dumbledore's last orders," Snape said silkily, his robes swishing behind him as he neared Harry.

"Er—thanks, I guess," Harry mumbled and then his eyes widened. "Was that you? Making me hug that snake?"

"You would not have known any other way to destroy her. It was also I, who led her here for you to destroy," Snape said grimly, darting his eyes across the grounds, as if expecting someone to come.

"Potter. Be wary. I think that the Dark Lord will come…" Snape cautioned in a quiet voice.

"Here?" Harry stifled a desire to snort. "At _Hogwarts_?"

"Dumbledore's gone, Potter. The castle is quite defenseless…And you and I are standing outside of the castle's boundaries," Snape said, still quietly.

Harry's smile disappeared. "I know. You do not have to remind me again, Snape."

"You still think," Snape started silkily, "that I murdered Dumbledore on my own accord?"

Harry stumbled for words, "Er—no, I—I know what happened. Sorry for calling you a coward."

"I did not wish to kill him," Snape said softly.

"Yeah, I know that now," Harry said dully, picking at a fringe on his shirt.

Suddenly, Harry's mind was broken into without warning. Harry shouted "_Protego_!" quickly. Harry looked around wildly to see who attacked him.

Snape looked livid. "You have not been practicing?"

"Practicing _what_?" Harry asked, now clearly annoyed as he rubbed his head.

"Occlumency! I told you to learn to keep your mind blocked and your mouth shut! You have not even attempted!" Snape bellowed angrily.

"Well, I haven't had any time, have I now? Off destroying Voldemort's horcruxes! Who could have taught me?" Harry retorted back heatedly.

"I was there beside you the entire time!" Snape began, irritated, "If you only cared to look!"

"How? I was with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny the whole time! I didn't see you—unless you had an Invisibility Cloak?"

Snape suddenly looked slightly flustered, the first time Harry had ever seen him like that. "Well, I was the—inn keeper when you were at Wicked Witch Inn…"

"I didn't see you!" Harry said impatiently.

"I…I was that blonde witch, all right?" Snape snapped, a red hue taking on his face.

Harry nearly laughed if he didn't know that Snape would have hexed him into oblivion if he did. "The one that gave us the keys?"

"Yes," Snape muttered through gritted teeth.

"Is that why Hermione looked at you strangely?" Harry asked lightly.

"She's sharp…unlike you, obviously," Snape sneered.

"Well, I didn't catch on, all right? _Sorry._"

"I was also in Room 140, if you cared to notice that 138 and 142 were right next to each other. I was waiting the whole night—but no Potter came to knock on my door, asking that I teach him Occumency to defeat the Dark Lord…"

"I did see that! It's just that—well, I had things on my mind, all right?" Harry said angrily.

"I suppose you didn't figure out that it was I, that placed the Hufflepuff cup in the dirt at the graveyard—I, who positioned Ravenclaw's wand in the Room of Requirement! I—who found all the horcruxes after asking the Dark Lord patiently who's been getting quite suspicious of me and I, who have been suffering the consequences! You have no idea, Potter—how lucky you were to be able to find those things so quick," Snape continued loudly, as if not hearing Harry at all, rolling up his robe sleeve to reveal large, deep slashes in his arms.

Harry stared. "You did all that?" he asked hoarsely.

Snape nodded. "Oh, and your dear rodent pal—_Wormtail_—helped some…between all his whimperings," Snaped sneered nastily.

"_Why_?" Harry asked, completely puzzled.

"I cannot believe Dumbledore trusts such an ignorant _boy _ to fulfill this great task! If you _must_ know, Wormtail is merely repaying you back for saving his lousy, useless life. Wizard's debt," Snape explained in a bored tone.

Harry did not speak. "So, we're even now, right?"

"Not quite. He owes you his _life_," Snape said smugly.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked quickly.

Before Snape could answer however, a scream burst through the air.

Harry whipped around, looking for Ginny. She was gone. A burst of great panic ran through him.

"_Harry_ _Potter_—good evening," a chilling voice appeared to his right and Harry turned, his eyes widened.

"Voldemort."

Voldemort's nostrils flared and his eyes glinted a deep red. With a wave of his wand, three people, bound tightly in thick ropes, appeared. It was Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Harry! Oh, Harry—Voldemort raided St. Mungo's! Nearly half the Order's gone!" Hermione cried, sobbing. She had not fully healed yet and there were bright pink scars all over her face.

"_Half the Order's gone_," Harry repeated. His thoughts immediately went to the Weasley family, Tonks, Remus…

"Severus…" Voldemort's voice was cold. Voldemort laid a finger on Severus's Dark Mark as Snape grimaced in pain. A dozen Death Eaters appeared.

"Traitor! I knew it, my Lord! He was always in Dumbledore's league!" Bellatrix appeared, crying hysterically, pointing madly to Snape.

"I know already, Bella…there is nothing that escapes my eyes or _mind_…" Voldemort trailed off, staring his red eyes at Snape.

"Severus…you will pay, of course…but first, Harry—the one that has eluded my grasp for so long—there is no one to die for you again—Dumbledore is quite gone…Severus…though traitor he is, murdered him," Voldemort sneered openly, glancing over at the castle over the gates.

"Hogwarts…it will become a school of Dark Arts after I have defeated you," Voldemort continued casually.

"No! I won't let you!" Harry shouted angrily.

Voldemort looked slightly amused. "You won't let me? How, may I ask?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Wizard's duel. Wands only."

Voldemort paused a bit and Bellatrix quickly interrupted, "No, My Lord! Kill the boy at once!"

Voldemort stared at Bellatrix. "Are you one to give _me_ orders?"

Bellatrix looked frightened and shrank. "No—of course not, My Lord…"

Voldemort turned back to Harry. "I accept."

Author's Note:

Now, I'm not so sure about whether or not Voldemort and Harry's final battle will take place at Hogwarts…it's just that J K R said that Voldemort loved the school and that it was special to both him and Harry…Anyways, for all we know J K R might place them in the middle of the Sahara desert…shakes head

Ohh, the next chapter's going to be the last…

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Thanks.

Thanks for all the reviews!


	7. The Battle

The Chosen One's Battle

By: Neen

* * *

Author's Note: 

This is merely my prediction and theories…please do not criticize me if you do not believe any of these…as I said before, these are most likely NOT going to be correct!

Please do not give me a long explanation of how you think that so-and-so shouldn't be like that…this is my story that I think is how the seventh Harry Potter novel will turn out vaguely like.

Please read this story with an unbiased (even if you pretend and still call me crazy on the side) view! Thanks.

Please be gentle (like, 'This needs some work' or something of the sort) because this is my first Harry Potter crew story…I've mostly concentrated on Lily and James (Marauder's Era) stuff…but I felt the need to post up this story because I have so many theories and thoughts…Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Battle**

"Harry…_Harry. _How noble of you to suggest this wizard's duel—a true Gryffindor as Dumbledore would have said…But alas for you, we will find out who's more powerful, won't we?" Voldemort smiled as Harry grimaced.

"I won't let you hurt anyone I love," Harry said quietly, but determined. Voldemort's smile quickly vanished.

"How moving. Just like your useless Mudblood mother…"

"Do NOT call my mum a Mudblood!" Harry shouted angrily, glaring at Voldemort.

"I will do as I want, Harry," Voldemort said dangerously and raised his wand, flicking it casually. "_Crucio_." The Death Eaters had begun attacking Snape, who was quickly blocking all their spells and shot out numerous bright lights from his wand. Many Death Eaters had fallen, sprawled on the cold, grassy ground.

Harry quickly dodged the red light shot out of Voldemort's wand and cried, "_Expelliarmus!"_

Voldemort vanished, escaping the spell Harry had cast, and reappeared next to Harry in mere seconds. "You are no match for me, Harry." He slashed open Harry's arm with a rapid whip of his wand and blood began blossoming through Harry's shirt. Harry bent over slightly, holding onto his arm as the Godric Gryffindor sword clung next to him most uncomfortably.

"_Harry_!" Ginny called out, her eyes widening. She struggled wildly against the ropes. If only she had her wand…

Harry Apparted to two feet away and mentally thought, "_Levicorpus_."

Voldemort was swept up, but before he was turned upside down, Voldemort immediately took the charm off of himself. "Is that all you can do?" he taunted, throwing another jet of light at Harry.

Harry began panicking as he barely managed to dodge the curse. "No."

Suddenly, to his right, Snape had fallen, his face displayed with great hatred as he fell. He had gone on. The Death Eater that had muttered the Killing Curse behind Snape's back laughed openly. Harry began to feel a sense of dread. "_This is it…the end," _he thought to himself, his heart sinking. _"Voldemort's quite right…no one can die and save me this time…_"

The Death Eaters were now rounding up on Harry, and Voldemort smiled. "Twenty to one…I wonder who might win?"

"Not you!" Harry shouted defiantly.

Voldemort smirked. "The day I've been longing for such a very long time…You've deprived of it till now, Harry…I am eager—_so_ eager…_Avada Kedavra_!"

A body fell, but it was not Harry's.

It was Wormtail's. He had managed to Apparate in at the very last second.

"_He owes you his life_." Snape's words repeated in Harry's head and Harry finally understood, looking down at Wormtail's blank face.

"A useless servant, nonetheless," Voldemort said casually, meeting Harry in the eyes, and raised his wand again.

"_Crucio_!"

This time, the spell hit him with full force, as Harry was too stunned at Wormtail's death to move. Harry gritted his teeth in pain, not wanting to give Voldemort the satisfaction of getting to him. His arm hurt even more, but the thought of his friends and Ginny let him be quiet. Ginny gave a horrified gasp as she closed her eyes, blinking away tears.

The spell stopped.

"Why can I not look into your mind?" Voldemort suddenly asked, his eyes flashing. "Your mind is weak—you are not an accomplished Legilimens from what I know…how indeed?"

Harry stared at him, not fully understanding himself. Then he shouted without warning, "_Petrificus Totalus!"_ as Voldemort looked occupied in his thoughts.

Voldemort quickly muttered a spell and the two spells met in the air, quite like how it was three years ago after the Triwizard Tournament.

Voldemort smirked. "Dear Ollivander told me of this Reverse-Spell Effect. It seems that if I just let go—" Voldemort broke the golden light and it shivered slightly before fading away, "—nothing happens. _Nothing_. Your tricks are failing you…anything else before I dispose of you? An unworthy opponent…I am clearly wasting my time.."

Harry was thrown to the ground with a heavy thud from the blow Voldemort had given him by wrenching his wand away, breaking the bond. His wand was gone, hurtled into a nearby bush, too far away to be in his reach, and he had landed on his injured arm, cracking it. "_Acci—_"

"_Crucio_."

He clutched his arm in great pain, the curse making it feel like it split over again and again. The cut on his arm was bleeding rather profusely and had formed a large rose of blood on his cotton shirt, seeping through the thin material. Voldemort looked dominant, as he stood with his wand raised, pointing it towards Harry's chest while Harry was on the ground, wandless, and in terrible pain.

Out of thin air, Fawkes appeared, a few long scarlet and gold feathers plummeting to the ground, singing a soft phoenix song. He flew over to Harry's side and dropped a few pearl-shaped tears and Harry could feel his arm mending. He stroked Fawkes and suddenly smiled. "_…my darkest hour…_" The phoenix had reminded him of his greatest—and last weapon to use against the Dark wizard.

"Voldemort—_Tom_—I understand now. You're wrong…completely wrong—evil is not the most powerful thing—there is something better—more wonderful than that—something you do not—and will not—understand. It is love, Tom. Something Dumbledore's been saying all these years but you would not listen. You see, evil is all about gain while love—love is the exact opposite. Love is making sacrifices. However, you are scared of death—scared of making sacrifices—scared of love. You will not prevail, Tom." Harry, then clutching Godric Gryffindor's treasured sword, sunk it in his chest without hesitation. He turned his head at the last moment, glancing one last time at Ginny, making sure that Ginny was the last memory he would ever have.

Ginny's eyes widened and she momentarily stopped struggling against her ropes. Her scream seemed to echo around. "_HARRY_!"

Hermione and Ron stared at him, not daring to believe what Harry had just done, as they too went suddenly limp.

A few seconds later, Harry's body began to float—higher and higher up. It suddenly disappeared, turning into a shower of miniscule sparkles, floating themselves onto everyone. Ginny stared at the sparkles that landed on her and watched intently as they sank in.

Voldemort threw his head back and laughed. "That—_that—_is the so-called power of love! It is powerless against the Dark side. A pity—he could have been great if he would come to our side." Voldemort stared at the space Harry was before and smiled maliciously in triumph. "How touching. A foolish sacrifice that has done, however, _nothing_. I still prevail like I said I would before. We shall leave now." His fellow Death Eaters smirked as well and swished their cloaks, leaving.

Suddenly Voldemort's face was wretched in pain as he tried to leave. Fawkes had landed on his shoulder. "What? _Dumbledore's _bird! What's happening?—" Voldemort was suddenly swallowed in flames. Fawkes had burst into flames while sitting there on his shoulder. Voldemort could not press the fire down, no matter what he tried—if he Apparated to a spot five feet away, the fire went with him. The fire roared with rage, fighting Voldemort's will to survive—it would not be conquered by him. His whole body burned—the fire snaking its way up and his skin charring black and becoming decayed. "NO! I cannot die—I am _immortal_! My horcruxes! This—is—NOT—possible!" With a final scream that slowly died away, Voldemort disappeared to be gone forever.

An ugly baby phoenix popped out of the ashes Voldemort had left behind and blinked. It flew clumsily to Ginny's feet and glanced at her.

"He—he did it," Ron said weakly after a moment, hardly believing his eyes. The ropes had automatically released themselves.

Hermione burst into tears, throwing herself on Ron. "Oh, he was so—so stupid—so _brave_ and _noble_."

Ginny did not make a sound, staring stony-faced at the place Harry disappeared. _Harry's gone_. Fawkes pecked slightly at Ginny's leg, but she gave no notice.

"I can't believe it—Harry—my best mate," Ron stared determinedly at the spot Harry had vanished from as if Harry would pop right back out, saying it was all a big joke. He waited there, Hermione's head on his shoulder, sobbing her heart out. Harry did not come back.

Ginny still did not make a sound. No tears or sobs came to her. She sat there, her body unmoving, staring. She knew he was gone…forever. Fawkes had crawled into her lap.

Ginny sat there for many hours—reliving all the memories she had of Harry—meeting him for the very first time, how she always turned red at the sight of him, him saving her in the Chamber of Secrets, and their short but happy relationship…

"Ginny—let's leave now," Ron said softly, nudging his sister, who did not move.

Hermione shushed him and shook her head at him. Ron was about to protest but Hermione gave him a look. The two Apparated away after saying goodbye to Ginny.

Ginny started crying. Her frame shook violently as she held onto Fawkes, her tears splashing onto the newborn chick.

She could not believe that she would never see him again—his messy black hair, his startlingly green eyes, his nice, warm smile—and most of all—the thing that caused all of this mess in the first place—his lightning bolt-shaped scar.

* * *

Author's Note: 

**That was the most depressing chapter I have ever wrote in my life. This is indeed what I think will happen--Harry will sacrifice himself for the good of the rest of the wizarding community--sad, yes, dreadful, yes--but, a great, noble thing to do...I just hope I'm dead wrong about this one...**

Wow, I can't believe I did that! Noo, I wrote Harry's death!

I'm really, really sorry…but please don't flame me…I know that I've disappointed lots of people out there, but I just can't see J K R giving a clichéd, oh-happily-ever-after type ending, so I decided to write that…

I'M SO SORRY!

But Harry's so brave…I think he will die…and I'm going to be so sad…I'm making a mental note to stash a lot of tissues around the house…

Anyways, sorry about the somewhat abrupt ending…I heard from someplace (might be wrong for all I know) that the last word in the book was going to be 'scar', so I decided to end it like that…

**I know it was rushed, but due to certain circumstances (vacation and school starting really soon), I had to…so sorry! **

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Thank you so much for being wonderful readers and reviewers!

Till I write again,

Neen

congrats to Sylvia Snape for nailing it right on! great job--I'm so predictable, aren't I? Hehe.

FairyLa: hope this was longer...I did fluff out some stuff--added descriptions here and there--and this was the longest chapter I've written...hope you enjoyed it!

**EDIT:**

For those who read this story and felt somewhat or totally confused with my ending, please look at the following for my explanations:

FairyLa and JMMPotter101 and Kanitai and Pyromytprincess: Okay, clearing things up a bit. The prophecy says (and I quote straight from the US edition on page 841): "_And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…"_

I understand that you guys think that only _one_ person can be killed according to the prophecy…but what I think is that because of the vague wording, it can also mean that either one of them dies or both can die. The only thing not possible is that they both live.

FairyLa: I think that J K R will sort out all the 'after-Harry's-death' questions…but who knows? Maybe Harry won't die. Good thinking there!

JMMPotter101: Yep, old Voldie's finally gone. Died. Snuffed it. Whatever you want to use.

Kanitai: I'm glad you brought all those points out. Gave me a reason to explain my crazy reasoning. Hehe. Okay, 'either must die at the hand of the other'. I think that the 'hand' part could be meant as figuratively. In **The Chosen One's Battle**, Harry does kill Voldemort with his love and Fawkes is touched by this, so even if Harry doesn't choke Voldie to death with his bare hands, he still kills him. You could say that Fawkes is the 'hand' that I used to fit it with the prophecy. You have to remember that Dumbledore gave Fawkes to Harry, making it Harry's possession. Hope that made it unconfusing…It probably made it even more confusing, so I'm very sorry!

Pyromytprincess: Where did you find out that J K R said the last word would be 'scar'? Another reviewer has been asking me and I can't seem to find it anymore…Fawkes would not have 'killed' Voldemort if not for Harry's bravery and love. Fawkes is the 'hand' (as in the prophecy) that kills Voldemort.


End file.
